Monday, November 23, 2009

Saudi flexes its muscles ahead of Hajj

Days before the start of the Islamic pilgrimage, Saudi Arabia holds a massive display of its armed forces. An annual event, the parade is meant to deter any who might seek to disrupt the event.

On top of fears of an outbreak of H1N1 flu during Hajj, Saudi Arabia has found it also has a number of security issues to be concerned about this year. One of those issues has been rising tensions between Saudi and nearby Iran.

In the past, Iranian pilgrims have complained, held protests and even clashed with police over being mistreated during Hajj. This time, though, the complaints have been over Saudi'spart in operations against Houthi fighters in northern Yemen.

An annual pre-Hajj event, Saudi authorities held a massive security forces demonstration at Arafat on Sunday evening, showing off the various battalions and personnel that are currently being deployed for the "protection of the pilgrims".

The military parade is largely seen as a show of force by the government, meant to deter any and all who might seek to disrupt the holy pilgrimage.

Speaking at the parade, Muhammad bin Abdullah al-Shahrani, head of emergency special forces that oversees Hajj security, said more than 100,000 personnel were being deployed this year. That number includes soldiers and security forces, police and emergency response teams.

It would seem the entirety of that force - from bomb squads to K9 units, and including ambulances, helicopters and armoured personnel carriers - were on display on Sunday.

After the sun set, the closely-controlled crowd of cameramen and journalists were corralled into a news conference with Prince Naif bin Abdul Aziz, Saudi's interior minister.

When asked about tensions with Iran and the possibility of a protest, Naif responded saying that if anyone were to threaten the sanctity of Hajj, they would be dealt with by force.

However, in response to follow-up questions, Naif clarified that he does not expect any disruptions of Hajj by Iranian pilgrims this year, as officials from Tehran had recently arrived in the kingdom, offering their reassurances and guarantees that no protests would be held.

On the subject of Yemen, Naif felt the need to reiterate that the Saudi and Yemeni governments were united against the "bad people", adding that fighting with the Houthis had nothing to do with Hajj.

With a word of praise for his men, Naif said he was completely satisfied with the security preparations being taken this year.